Help with deformed body

Hi

I've just received a Fujimi Gallardo from HK and it looks like it was crushed a little in transit.

The roof has been pushed down a bit and the two a pillars are slightly bent. Does anyone have any tips to get these back into shape. I was thinking something along the lines of heating the plastic a little and using splints of some kind to get it to sit back at the correct height. Maybe the windows will make it confirm again?

What have you done in similar circumstances?

Cheers
Oli

Sometimes if the pillars are not kinked, just bowed, and the windshield fits well, you can cement the glass in after you finish painting it and it will hold the shape of the posts.
I have used thin wire and thin left over PE strips cemented with CA to strengthen the posts too, but those look very thin and that may not be a viable option... - Mark

I use hair dryer, it works alright for me

warm it gently in warm water and massage them back in place

i've tried the water technique. i ran it for a couple of seconds under hot water to soften the plastic a bit. then i put the window in place to get the pillars to form correctly and held it tightly as i ran under cold water.

Thanks guys I will give it a go.

Since there seem to be some here that have built this model, did you use the supplied clear parts painted smoke to represent the mesh grills front and back and did it look okay?

Is there an alternative real mesh product that i could use for these areas?

Cheers
Oli

warm water or ask for a replacement (if it's HLJ, they will give you one)

I'd definitely try the warm (sub-boiling) water technique, combined w/carefully fitting the glass...the glass itself on the Gallardo is a very tight fit, the windshield is very tight near the base, and the side glass needs some sanding to get it to fit. So w/the right tension and perhaps a bit of hot water helping, the pillars may look perfectly okay if they haven't been kinked. Otherwise, HLJ can get replacements, though if you didn't get it from them, you'll have to pay for the body. They do provide free replacements when you can document a damaged shipment from them-pictures help. I got a fresh Hasegawa Miura when mine came damaged w/several trees broken and a few parts damaged. It's salvageable (some work will be very tricky), but it was very nice to get a perfect one to build.

The grilles should be painted flat black, they don't look right in smoke-there are some photoetch pieces available for it, but I hear they don't fit well. While it seems cheap to do the grilles the way they do, they look fine if they're sprayed w/flat black. Airbrushed flat black acrylic is best, to keep from filling in the fine mesh.

warm water i find works the best

i've tried the water technique. i ran it for a couple of seconds under hot water to soften the plastic a bit. then i put the window in place to get the pillars to form correctly and held it tightly as i ran under cold water.

This sounds like the best solution to me!